1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more specifically to security systems and methods for controlling and authorizing access to computer systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Security is an important consideration for computer systems that grant access to multiple users. This is especially true when access can be obtained from outside a physically restricted area, such as systems generally available over the internet. As systems become more complex, and access to data needs to be more widely distributed, security systems tend to become more complex.
Such issues arise in the context of different businesses sharing data and processes over distributed computer systems. It becomes important that security can be administered from more than one location, by more than one administrator. Further, due to different companies doing business in different ways, security systems intended for use by different business must be flexible, and able to accommodate different security implementations.
Present security systems are often cumbersome, and do not have the desired flexibility. It would be desirable to provide a computer security system that was flexible, extendable, and allowed multiple administrators to operate concurrently to provide needed security. It would be desirable that such a system allows administrators to define additional types of security, and supply security for additional types of objects, than are originally provided for.